Currently, Roanoke Rapids is severely undercounted in the 2020 Census.
We are on track to lose millions in federal funding over the next decade.
These are our tax dollars — hard earned and rightfully ours — and this funding is critical.
The only way to access that money is to be fully counted.
https://rrspin.com/opinion/3231-city-could-lose-millions-through-census-undercounting.html#sigProId42486c44aa
Here is what it will affect:
Roads and transportation
Early education
Senior services
Veterans services
Infrastructure that supports local businesses
Emergency services
If you have not yet responded to the 2020 Census, do so immediately.
It takes less than 10 minutes.
All information is confidential, and specific information is unable to be accessed by law for 72 years. All that matters is that you are counted, since federal funds will be distributed by population.
Every response makes a difference.
A Census response brings $1,823 per person, per year in federal and state funds to cities and counties.
Every single response truly makes a difference.
It determines your share of federal funding.
A larger population equals a larger slice of the nearly $700 billion available.
It’s already your money.
These are tax dollars, paid and collected. An undercount will restrict access to those funds.
It determines who represents you, both in Washington and Raleigh.
Congressional and state district lines are redrawn following each Census.
The 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are reapportioned based on newly tabulated state populations.
More people mean more representatives and more electoral votes.
North Carolina is projected to gain a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
An incomplete count puts that additional congressional seat in jeopardy.
It is confidential.
The Census is used strictly for count and general data.
Your personal information is safe. Census data is only ever reported at a summary level.
For example, you may hear that 10 percent of a town's population are renters, however the census bureau cannot say the resident of 123 Main Street is a renter.
Title 13 of U.S. law protects your personal census information for 72 years. The Census form will not ask for social security numbers.
The Census does not ask a citizenship question. The Census does not ask for financial information.
The 2020 Census will now end on September 30th, one month before the previously announced deadline.
We are running out of time to get all of Roanoke Rapids counted.
As of July 31, 41 percent of North Carolina households have not completed the 2020 Census. That is more than 4 million North Carolinians who have not completed the census.
Undercounting our residents represents real dollars lost, real community programs underfunded, and real people whose needs are going under- or un-served.
Help keep our community strong.
You can respond immediately by these methods: Online: https://my2020census.gov/ or by phone at 844-330-2020.
Joseph Scherer is the Roanoke Rapids city manager